Wednesday, December 19, 2001

I've been reading the blog of another USC student, and evidently his family lives in Houston. He was complaining about how boring this place is, and I felt I had to respond... His blog, btw, is collapsing.blogspot.com... I haven't quite figured out how to link yet. So, anyway, this is the letter I sent to him.

Hey Brian,

After not reading your blog for a while, I decided to pay a visit today... and I must say, the bitterness about Texas is quite overwhelming. And while a lot of what you complain about is truth (ie, the stupidity of the driver's license bureau) it's not all cowboys and gun-toting NRA freaks here. So, I decided to tell you about my favorite things to do in Houston. Most will require a lot of driving, a sense of fun, and preferably a gaggle of friends, but family can also be enjoyable, if you're lacking in the friends department in Houston.

In no particular order:

Kemah: This touristy spot on the Gulf of Mexico can be a lot of fun, despite the high prices and the strange variations of weather. Parking can be a hassle, but this is the home of my favorite Joe's Crabshack. And sometimes, it's nice to just sit on a bench and people-watch.

Fitzgerald's: The premier venue for great punk shows... I don't know what's been going on lately (seeing that I live in LA), but I've been to many a good concert here. It's located in Montrose, my favorite part of town. It has a great artsy vibe going on.

The Museum District: I was almost an art history major, and this was a large reason why. This area of town (just past Kirby, centered around Bissonet) has numerous museums that are definitely worth a look at. The Museum of Fine Arts Houston has an amazing collection (though I still prefer the Art Institute of Chicago) and a brand new building. The science museum's always fun, and the Cockerell butterfly center is always fabulous. I really enjoy the Menil Collection, a private collection of mostly contemporary art. And then there's always the contemporary arts museum, the place where I first saw Basquiat.

The Taste of Texas: A restaurant located at Beltway 8 and I-10. Okay, it's expensive, but it serves the best steaks in town. And if you get into the cowboy mood, it has the most tasteful cowboy decor in town. I'm biased, though. One of my best friends' family owns it.

Nam: If you like Vietnamese food, this restaurant on Westheimer and Fondren serves the best. It's really close to my house, so we eat there all the time.

Rice Village: Okay, yet another cool shopping area around Rice University (a cool school, if I say so myself.) I spend way too much time shopping. But this is also home to BW-3s, the only place you can get really good buffalo wings in town. And Anime Planet, my favorite source for all things anime, is just around the corner.

NASA: Okay, it's an obvious one... but it's still a lot of fun to remember all of those dreams of being an astronaut when you were a kid as you're whizzing around the space center on a tour. They have a lot of cool displays, which really appeal to the nerdy pocket-protector-wearing part of me.

Downtown: They've been having a big revival, though downtown's still a pain to drive around in because of all the contruction. I like going to Bayou Place and watching indies at the Angelika Theater, wandering around downtown and taking pictures of the fountains. One time I went to this little hole in the wall Mexican food place... it was amazing, but I can't quite remember the name of it. But look around for things like that.

I also tend to frequent the Soundwaves in Montrose, The Black Lab, an English pub in Montrose, and Value Village, a thrift store chain all around the city. I go to the one on Gessner, but I hear good things about a lot of them. My advice: get the car for a day and explore... it's a lot better than playing video games.

Okay, wow, I've written a travelogue.
I'll be sure to save this for future reference.

~Jen